HONG KONG — A documentary about basketball sensation Jeremy Lin, a Song Dynasty war epic and the latest incarnation of Ip Man are in focus at this year’s Hong Kong International Film Festival.

“Ip Man: The Final Fight,” which opens the festival on Sunday, is the fifth movie in recent years based on the life of the famed martial artist, who died in Hong Kong in 1972. “The Final Fight” is set during the period after he arrived here from his home in Foshan, located in China’s Guangdong province, in 1950, a time of trade-union struggles, class conflict and overbearing colonialism.

“Hong Kong society was in turmoil and chaotic, and the economic situation wasn’t good,” says director Herman Yau. “This film is a kind of an encouragement for Hong Kong people nowadays.”

Mr. Yau paints an idealized portrait of the real-life figure who taught the form of kung fu known as wing chun and counted a young Bruce Lee among his students. He’s depicted as “a down-to-earth character, defending the underdog and teaching kung fu to the working class,” says festival curator Jacob Wong. “It’s history as populist cinema.”

The story of Ip Man, much like American comic-book tales such as “X-Men” and “Batman,” has been told and retold on film in recent years. He was first played in 2008 by Donnie Yen, who portrayed him as a cultured family man who could take down villains when threatened. The film was a commercial hit and a sequel followed two years later.

In January, Wong Kar-wai, director of cinephile fare such as “In the Mood for Love” and “2046,” joined the party with “The Grandmaster,” starring Tony Leung Chiu-wai. The film mixed stylized fight scenes with philosophical reflection, showing kung fu’s intellectual bent as much its physical side.

Mr. Yau himself has weighed in previously, with 2010’s “The Legend Is Born: Ip Man,” which focused on the martial artist’s younger years.

Anthony Wong, a veteran Hong Kong actor who starred in films such as “Infernal Affairs” and “Young and Dangerous,” plays the title role in “The Final Fight,” slimming down his usual stocky build for the role. “I practiced kung fu for more than a year,” he says, adding that he lugged a wooden dummy during his travels so that he could practice in hotel rooms.

Nailing the accent came easier, he says. “My mother’s side’s hometown is quite near Foshan. When I was very young, they spoke the dialect at home, and I picked it up very easily.”

“Ip Man: The Final Fight” releases in China next week, and in other Asian markets, including Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, on March 28. The Hong Kong film festival runs until April 2 with more than 300 films in the lineup. Other highlights include:

Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? Taiwan-based American director Arvin Chen’s second feature is another spin on romantic missteps. Pop singer Richie Jen stars as a husband, father and closeted gay man. “He’s approaching 40 but still looking for romance and trying to figure out love,” Mr. Chen says. His 2010 debut feature “Au Revoir Taipei,” about a young couple on the run from small-time hoodlums, also found laughs among lonely souls longing for love, but Mr. Chen says “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?” is “a lot more dramatic.” The film takes its title from the hit 1960s song by the Shirelles, and like “Taipei,” music plays an important role. March 26 and 28

Saving General Yang: Director Ronny Yu’s epic set in the Song Dynasty is based on a legend of seven warrior brothers who set out to rescue their father, General Yang, during war. “It’s a story about traditional virtues of filial piety,” Mr. Wong says, with visually striking scenes. While the film’s cast is packed with popular actors from around greater China, period action movies have struggled at the mainland box office in recent months. It remains to be seen whether lavish spectacle can lure audiences away from low-budget comedies. March 28

Drug War: This cat-and-mouse thriller about a Chinese cop (Sun Honglei) who will do whatever it takes to nab a Hong Kong drug dealer (Louis Koo), is vintage Johnnie To, a Hong Kong director who is producing his first film for a mainland Chinese company. With a spectacularly violent finish, “it’s a cold-blooded, ruthless film about cold-blooded, ruthless people,” says the festival’s Mr. Wong. March 19

Linsanity: It was only a year ago that Jeremy Lin shot to fame as point guard for the New York Knicks, and Linsanity seized the public consciousness—even grabbing the attention of U.S. President Barack Obama. Evan Jackson Leong’s documentary, which premiered at Sundance in January, explores the life and career of the NBA star, who’s now playing for the Houston Rockets. March 18 and 30

A Complicated Story: Mr. To and producer Bill Kong are the names behind this story about a wealthy Hong Kong man who hires a surrogate mother from China. Made by graduate students from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, “A Complicated Story” is based on a Hong Kong novel, but some audiences could see it as a metaphor for the prickly relations between Hong Kong and mainland China. March 26